HCA: Hermit Crab Association

How does everybody keep their night time temperature up. I have two tanks a 10 gallon and a 20 long the temp in the both falls below 70°, until the heat lamp comes on. I have a small uth on the back of both tanks above the substrate the ones you can purchase in the pet stores.

The easiest way to maintain a steady temperature is to use the physically largest UTH that will fit across the back of the tank above the substrate line (dipping a little below that line is OK). The UTHs sold in pet stores (i.e., ZooMed, All Living Things, etc.) are meant to provide a "warm spot" under the very thin substrate in a lizard or snake tank and are therefore sold for the specific gallon size of the tank. Hermit crabs need their entire home to be at least 75 degrees at all times, therefore a UTH that covers the entire (or almost entire) back of the tank is the best way to achieve this.

The brand favored by crabbers is Ultratherm, available only online through BeanFarm.com, Amazon (for BeanFarm) and ReptileBasics.com. The latter vendor has the best prices and lowest shipping costs but BeanFarm has a greater selection of sizes. Ultratherms are easy to mount/remove, provide a steady and reliable level of heat (dependent on the ambient temperature of the room, of course), are long-lasting, can be insulated if needed and are, essentially, worry-free. Just measure the length and height of each tank, deduct the depth of the substrate from the height and then browse ReptileBasics.com and BeanFarm.com to see which sizes will work best for you!

Thanks that's what I was thinking I would have to do but was not sure.

Just placed my order from the been farm they had the sizes I needed. Will see how they work.